An e-cigarette is still a cigarette

By Jonel Juste

While marketers claim it is safer than tobacco cigarettes, electronic cigarette (e-cig) is being banned in some places like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and even Miami-Dade County. Until now, there is no scientific proof to sustain that “e-smoking” is harmless.

The Miami Herald reported on Tuesday February 2 that “County commissioners unanimously signed off on a measure prohibiting the use of e-cigarettes in indoor workplaces”. The ban, continued the paper, includes buildings overseen by the Public Health Trust that oversees Jackson hospital.

Miami joins then a growing circle of cities prohibiting e-cigs in some places as they did years ago for the infamous tobacco cigarettes. With the rising of e-cig, we observe that smoking becomes trending again. It is cool to “e-smoke”, to blow off some sophisticated smoke live on TV or in people’s face. Today, e-cigarette commercials are flourishing. Until now, the only tobacco ads on Television were to urge people to quit. However, with the new “tobacco free” cigarettes, people quickly forget about the dangers of smoking. The fields tobacco cigarettes have lost in the past 10 years are being reconquered by e-cigs. Smokers feel free to puff everywhere, particularly where smoking is not allowed. According to commercials, e-cigs just contain harmless water vapor, fruit flavor with a low percentage of nicotine.

Once, someone blew off an e-cig smoke in my face and I could clearly perceive the very smell of tobacco as if it were a real cigarette. When I searched the Internet, I found that e-cigs generally vaporize a liquid solution. Some solutions contain a mixture of nicotine and flavorings, while others release a flavored vapor without nicotine. The solution in the vaporizer is made of 84.6% to 92% of propylene glycol and glycerol, 0% to 5.4% of nicotine and 8 to 10% of flavorings, have I found. Those substances are presented as harmless but they are really not.

Some studies reveal that e-cigarettes smoke have the same effect than tobacco cigarettes, they affect the airways, and quickly. How come? So far, 10 chemicals have been identified in e-cig vapor that are on the California Prop 65 list of carcinogens and reproductive toxins. There are Acetaldehyde, Benzene, Cadmium, Formaldehyde, Isoprene, Lead, Nickel, Nicotine, N-Nitrosonornicotine and Toluene.

In my researches, I also found interesting that big tobacco companies own now their own e-cig brand, pretending that their tobacco e-cigs are safer than tobacco cigarettes. One of the most popular brand is marketed as “a carefully crafted, proprietary blend of [something] tobacco flavors (…) for those who enjoy the taste and feel of a rich, full-flavored tobacco cigarette.” So, tobacco or not tobacco?

Moreover, many parents fear that the e-cig may be a Trojan horse to their kids. E-cigarette being so popular, they worry that smoking it will addict children to nicotine and thus increase the likelihood that they will smoke real cigarettes in the future.

Because of the letter “e” before cigarette, many people think that smoking electronically is ok while they might get the same cancer. Until now, there is no scientific proof to sustain that the e-cig vapor is not harmful. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami have started the movement of banning e-cigs in public places, restaurants, bars and in private office buildings. Others cities are considering e-cigs ban also.

E-cigarettes are the latest ploy of “Big Tobacco” to attract consumers, believes Democrat councilor Peter Gennaro, who pushes the e-cig ban in New York. Mr. Gennaro, who lost his mother and father-in-law to lung cancer, is a fierce opponent of what he calls “re-normalizing smoking”, reports the Telegraph.